Islamist rebels from the Ansar al Sham raised their black banner over coastal territory in Latakia after regime forces lost control of the largely Christian town of Kasab. The Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic Front clashed with regime forces in Deir Izzour; in Hama; in Aleppo, where they were backed by the Al-Mojaheden and Al-Ansar army; and in Latakia around Kasab, in the al Marsad 45 area with a suicide attack, and in other areas near the Turkish border. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham beheaded a Kurdish YPG fighter in Hasakah, bombarded villages in Raqqah, and clashed with the YPG in Aleppo.
